This invention at hand relates generally to a demountable sunshade canopy structure and in particular to sunshade canopies for ultraviolet UV sun ray protection of children's play areas.
It is increasingly acknowledged that physically challenging outdoor play structures are of a benefit to the physical and emotional development of young children. A code of safety specifications for the construction and maintenance of children's play structures has been developed by National Play and Playground Authorities, published (1996) by the National Recreation and Park Association of Arlington Va. These construction specifications describe construction features for support of children's slides, swings, climbing apparatus, etc. which minimize risk of injury to children engaged in all manner of predictable use or misuse of the play structures.
The specification requires that the play structures be mounted on a platform or on towers elevated up to six feet above a resilient (non-hardened) surface such as cork or rubber panels and the towers or the platform be supported by a very limited number of support columns. The columns are to be capped at the top without exterior fittings on which a child may be injured while climbing upon or falling from the platform or tower. The support columns are capped at the top to discourage a child from climbing or holding on while suspended from the column top. The vertical support columns have been in the past a source of injuries to children engaged in unintended use of these structures. Accordingly, the minimum of vertical columns, all free of hand-or foot holds, has become a specification for an acceptable and safe design.
Separate from the safe construction design referred to above which have and are significantly reduce playground injuries, there is a growing threat to children's health when they are engaged in outdoor play and or exercise in the sun shine.
There are numerous publications that exhibit various canopies over play areas and covers over other areas as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 589,563 to Jensen shows a canopy to act as a tent. It is so designed that it is collapsible and has movable joints and brackets for the purpose.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,758 to Clayton shows a cover a mery-go-around having cover extensions that extend past the perimeter of the platform. The merry-go-around as propelled by children that are standing on the platform and hanging on to hand rails. There are no play ground devices located on the platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,900,274 to Brockie illustrates a collapsible play pen having vertical support columns including brackets that support hip beams. There are no cantilevered beams to extend outwardly from the brackets supporting the hip beams.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,015,321 to Shelton discloses canopy including a frame. The frame has brackets that support the frame on vertical columns including beams that extend in a horizontal direction. Hip beams are deployed by operating a central hand crank screw drive. The hip beams do not extend from the brackets on the vertical supports.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,992 to Gremont shows a canopy structure that employs rigid bracket to support hip beams but no cantilevered beams are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,525 to Briggs discloses an elevated platform having a canopy placed there over but children's play devices are placed at a remote location.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,106 to McBride illustrates an elevated platform with children's play devices attached to the platform but there is no teaching that play devices may be placed on and in contact with elevated platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,060 describes a dome tent pole connector wherein the bracket my collapsibly support dome shaped hip beams.
The earth's protective atmosphere ozone layer has significantly been depleted due to release of chemical pollutants into the atmosphere during the last five decades. The result of the ozone depletion is that the solar ultraviolet UV rays are significantly more intense and comprise a serious health risk to children when playing in the now unfiltered UV sun radiation. In 1930 the risk of developing melanoma form sun exposure was 1 in 1500. Today, a person's risk of developing skin cancer at some time during their life is 1 in 75. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States each year with more than one million cases diagnosed each year. Currently, this year, 47,700 Americans will be diagnosed with life threatening melanoma and 7,700 will die of this disease. The current prognosis for this disease is that approximately one out of five children in the United States will experience some form of skin cancer during their lifetime. Furthermore, exposure to the current intensity of solar UV radiation reduces the effectiveness of the immune system. This effect is of special importance to children's health.
Sources of the above statistics can be found in publications of the American Academy of dermatology, American Cancer Society, National Institutes Health, US Center for disease Control and the Australian Cancer Society.
The copending application Ser. No. 09/960,483 goes into detail how to construct a shaded canopy over a children's playground or exercise area which is incorporated herein by reference. Of particular interest are the connections of the cantilevered beams and the angled hip beams that are made to conform to the vertical support columns. These connections are simplified by constructing certain fittings that will greatly simplify those connections in a standard and more precise way and at a much lower cost.